Leprosy Cases Rise in Florida

A very rare disease that many believe long eradicated is making a comeback in Florida and health officials are warning that nine-banded armadillos may be to blame.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, has been confirmed in nine people in the state so far this year, Mara Burger, press secretary for the Florida Department of Health told Patch. With two to 12 cases each year the norm, this year’s numbers could surpass that with five months left to go in the year.

The disease “is caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae ) bacteria,” Burger said. “The infection has also been identified in nine-banded armadillos.”

Leprosy is considered a very difficult disease for most people to contract.

“Approximately 95 percent of people are resistant to infection; people who develop clinical illness can experience a wide range of clinical manifestations, but typically develop infections involving the skin, peripheral nerves and nasal mucosa,” Burger said. “Although the mode of transmission of Hansen’s disease is not clearly defined, most investigators believe that M. leprae is usually spread person-to-person in respiratory droplets following extended close contact with an infected person, such as living in the same household. Extended close contact with infected armadillos may also pose exposure risk to M. leprae.”

See Also:

• 3 Leprosy Cases Confirmed in Florida

Burger said identifying the exact sources in new cases is problematic for health department officials.

“For many cases, the exposure causing the infection is unknown because it can take months or years for illness to develop,” she said.

The World Health Organization notes that the incubation period for Hansen’s disease is about five years and symptoms can take as long as 20 years to develop. An estimated 232,857 cases were reported worldwide in 2012 with figures representing reports out of 115 countries, WHO reported.

With exposure sources difficult to track, the health department “advises that people avoid interacting with any wild animals, including armadillos.”

Armadillos are small, cat-sized creatures that are not native to Florida, but are commonly found across most of the state, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports. The creatures are aptly named after the nine breaks found in the leather-like armor that covers their bodies.

A 2011 report in the New England Journal of Medicine implicates the nine-banded armadillo as a possible carrier of leprosy in the southern United States.

Leprosy is treatable through the use of a combination of antibiotics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. The course of treatment may last from about 6 months up to 2 years. Clinics run by the National Hansen’s Disease Program offer treatment for those diagnosed with the condition in the United States.

For more information about leprosy, visit the CDC online.

Image courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission